he has the chance to begin another chapter and do even more.During the press conference in which KTM made the announcement that JSR was joining their team, they made the statement, “ Europe has Stefan Everts, the USA has Roger DeCoster and now we have JSR“. I think this sums up nicely just how much JSR not only means to KTM, but to Canadian Motocross in general.I caught up with him as he was back at his home in Acton Vale, Quebec cooking dinner; here is what the 5-time Canadian National Champion had to say.KTM put on a great conference for many different forms of Media inside the industry and out.
DMX: Bonjour JSR, are you back from Toronto yet?
JSR: Yes, I got back home this afternoon. I had fun in Toronto, it was a good show and a good weekend!
Yes, it was a pretty good show; I was very impressed with the attendance. What are you up to now that your back home?
I am building a four-plex right now, so I had to go and do some things with that, we are just in the process of getting all the windows and doors on so its sealed up. Other than that, I had to go and pick up my daughter from school, cook some dinner, do some paper work, and then shovel the driveway because we got a lot of snow today.
Wow, you’re a busy guy. Ever since I have known you though, you’ve always been a guy that likes to be busy.
Yes for sure, I hate sitting still, I get bored very easy I guess. You know how busy life gets when you have a family, then you have to factor in work and then with Moto stuff that takes up time it doesn’t take long before your busy. It gets hard to be away though, even with the short amount of time that I was gone this past weekend, when I got home my daughter said that I was gone too long and that I shouldn’t go away so long.
I know, it’s hard to be away from your family, especially when they are young like ours and so close to Christmas. Let’s talk some business now. How excited are you to be with KTM now?
I am very excited, to be perfectly honest with you. I will only be going into the KTM office once or twice a week to work on things, like putting together the demo rides or anything they need me to do. Also, the KTM office is only 40 minutes from my house so that will be great. My close proximity to the office will allow me to keep on top of my projects there and never be far away. It really is the perfect situation for me at this point in my life.
KTM had JSR's bike covered up until the annoucement was made keeping everyone is suspense!
That sounds really good for you. Part of your responsibility at KTM I assume will be testing. When do you plan on getting some real seat time on the bikes?
That I am not sure of, I will most likely be going to California in late January to do some riding and hang out with the team in the USA. After that, I will head to Florida in March or April to work with our Canadian guys and make sure they will be ready to go for June. Other than that, I will just be waiting for the good weather at home in April, hopefully. So, for the next month or so we don’t have anything planned but that of course could change.
During Friday’s press conference, your new bosses at KTM mentioned your name along with Stefan Everts in Europe and Roger DeCoster in the US. They also made it quite clear how serious they are not only to win races, but to help build the sport and attract new people to it. Will that be part of your duties there?
For sure, you know there are a number good things happening at KTM. Obviously the new products they have for 2011 are very exciting, but since KTM is a relatively small company, it allows them to get things done quickly. What takes months at the other manufactures, they can get done in a week. KTM is also open to new ideas and they aren’t afraid to try stuff, the new KTM 350 is a perfect example of that. All of these things make me very excited to be a part of the KTM family.
JSR, Pomeroy and Florian go way back.
Are you as excited as you were when you came back to Canada in 2001?
Well, yes and no. That was also an exciting time because I was coming home and at the time Honda was very big into racing and they really wanted to win. But now, it’s a different type of excitement because I am older, I have a family and this project gives me a chance to give something back and help people. KTM’s motivation to win championships right now though, is the same as Honda’s was back in 2001. They are very serious, I like that.
Alright JSR, thanks for doing this, I’ll let you go and shovel show. Merry Christmas to you and your family, and congratulations on your new job with KTM! I guess it will be a white, and orange Christmas at the Roy house!
Yes, I guess it will be (laughs). Thank you, and same to you and your family.
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